The Greatest Gift
by The Sarcastic Polar Bear
Summary: Olivia would have to go through this without him. Tears welled in her eyes at that thought. She would be on her own.


**New story. Again. Thou shalt not kill me! My good buddy obsessedwithstabler co-authored this with me. She wrote the awesome Liv, and the brief appearance of Munch and Fin. I did El and Maureen. **

Elliot Stabler woke to the sound of the alarm clock wailing loudly. He groaned slightly and rolled over, hitting the snooze button and opening his eyes lazily.

Beside him his pregnant wife lay sleeping, a small smile curving her lips.

He lay his hand on her swollen belly and stroked it tenderly, a smile forming on his face.

Olivia stirred and sighed softly.

Elliot leaned in and kissed her softly on the temple. He slipped out of bed quietly, not wanting to awake her. He stumbled into the bathroom tiredly.

As the shower was turned on, Olivia shifted in the bed. Her due date was two days ago, and she was exhausted and more than ready to deliver her children. She ran her hand over her abdomen and sighed contently. Twins. When they had gone to the doctor for a sonogram and she had pointed out the second little peanut, Olivia had sobbed and Elliot had just stared. Twins were a possibility, but neither of them had really expected it. But as reality set in, so did joy. Olivia had wanted children all of her life, and Elliot saw it as a chance they would have two sons. She grinned contently and snuggled deeper into the bed. Any day, they would have two beautiful children to love and nurture. And Olivia was determined to be a better mother than her own had ever been.

Elliot stepped out of the shower and dried himself off with the towel. He slipped into his clothes and brushed his teeth, and shaved. He returned to the bedroom and leaned next to Olivia's ear. "Goodbye, gorgeous," he whispered sexily.

She turned her head and kissed him softly. This was always the worst part of the day. Since she was older and carrying twins, her doctor had ordered her to take leave earlier than she planned. And even though she knew her doctor was right and she had to take care of her children first, she hated the idea of someone else having her husband's back.

Elliot always hated to leave her. He wanted to be there for her when the babies came. He didn't want her to go through her first delivery without him there to help. He had been the one who first thought she was pregnant. He knew right from the moment she had the first bout of morning sickness that they had a beautiful little creature on the way.

She gently caressed his cheek and yawned. "Love you."

"Love you too, babe." Elliot tucked a strand of his wife's brunette hair behind her ear before slowly walking out of the bedroom, glancing over his shoulder as he left.

When the door closed, she snuggled under the covers and drifted back to sleep.

When Elliot walked into the squadroom with an extra bounce in his step, Munch eyed him warily. "Having a good morning, Stabler?"

"What makes you think that?" Elliot asking simply, pulling off his jacket.

"You're grinning like an idiot. Either you're having a good morning, or..."

Fin leaned back in his chair. "Shut up, Munch."

Elliot rolled his eyes and sat at his desk. He wasn't aware that he was, in fact, grinning ear to ear as he sipped his coffee. Munch had made it, so his grin was quickly chased away at the bitter taste.

After sleeping for a little while, Olivia finally got up and walked into the bathroom. Then she padded into the living room, absently rubbing her swollen belly. Her back was aching, but that was nothing new. Thirty extra pounds of baby weight didn't help. She fixed a cup of tea, then went into the living room and eased herself onto the couch. But as she sat down, a shooting pain in her abdomen made her cry out.

"Oh, no..." She reached for the phone. "Not now." Shaking, she dialed Elliot's number.

The phone rang several times before going to voicemail, and she groaned. He had promised to keep his phone on at all times, just in case this happened.

She tried Cragen, Munch and Fin, with the same results. She racked her brain for who else she could call. Simon was too far away, and Alex was away on vacation.

Finally she dialed another number and waited for someone to answer.

"Hello?"

She sighed in relief. "Maureen. I'm so glad you answered your phone."

"Hi, Olivia. What's wrong?" she asked, catching the strain in Olivia's voice.

"I'm in labor, and your dad isn't answering his phone. Is there any way... you could take me to the hospital?"

"Sure, I'll be right over," Maureen said quickly. "Don't move."

"Thank you, sweetheart." She hung up the phone and tried to relax. When she and Elliot had started dating, none of his children had been surprised. Kathleen was angry, but Maureen seemed to handle the change with ease. No one had expected Olivia to take Kathy's place, and the young Stablers saw her as a friend, someone they could talk to. And she loved it.

She rubbed her stomach slowly and breathed deeply.

Finally the front door opened, and Olivia looked relieved to see Maureen. "Thank you for doing this, Maureen," she murmured as she slowly got to her feet.

"Don't mention it." Maureen helped Olivia up and led her to the car.

Olivia let Maureen help her into the car, and as Maureen drove to the nearest hospital, she tried calling her husband again. But there was still no answer, and she sighed heavily as another contraction hit. If she couldn't reach him in time, he would miss the birth of his children. And Olivia would have to go through this without him. Tears welled in her eyes at that thought.

She would be on her own.


End file.
